The partner of a man who suffered life-changing injuries in the same spot where a woman died in a fatal crash last weekend has called for better safety measures on the “dangerous” road.
As previously reported, 29 year old police constable Alice Mayo was killed after her blue Fiat 500 was in a collision with a white Land Rover Defender on Spark Lane in Brereton last Saturday.
The 77 year old man who was driving the Land Rover was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has since been released on conditional bail pending further enquiries.
After hearing about the incident, Binky Beaumont said memories came “flooding back” about a crash in the same spot four years earlier, which left his partner with life changing injuries.
He said: “That road is always a worry. People travel down it so fast between Sandbach and Congleton, whether they’re going towards or coming off the motorway.
“There are so many more accidents nowadays because there are more cars on the roads, and it affects innocent people.”
Mr Beaumont explained that on 6th July 2022, his partner, who was driving a green Mini Cooper, had been turning right into Moorhead Lane off Spark Lane (A534) when a woman driving behind him in a white Toyota DYNA failed to stop.
He said: “She drove into the back of him and pushed his car into the path of an HGV that was travelling at full pelt the other way.
“We were very lucky that there was a man who volunteered with Buxton Mountain Rescue who happened to be two cars behind.
“He cleared his airway and got him breathing. He knew to call the police on one phone and an air ambulance on another. He handled the whole thing – it was fantastic.”
The 39 year old woman who had been driving the Toyota suffered minor injuries and later received a suspended sentence for causing serious injury by careless driving.
The 60 year old HGV driver also sustained minor injuries.
Mr Beaumont, who is the organiser and ringmaster for Gandey’s Circus, said he and his partner were still living with the impact of the incident.
He said: “I saw the flowers that had been laid (for Ms Mayo) when I drove past yesterday, and the memories all came flooding back. Our lives have been put on hold for so long and things will never be back the way they were.
“That road is terrible, all the way from the M6 to Congleton. The signage is not maintained – it gets dirty and trees are overgrown and hang down over it – I think that’s the big issue.
“The roads are in such a bad state that people are swerving to avoid potholes. It’s a very dangerous bit of road.”
Data from the Department for Transport, through crashmap.co.uk, shows that between 2020 and 2024 there were 29 road traffic incidents on the A534 between junction 17 of the M6 and West Heath Roundabout near Tesco Express in Congleton, involving a total of 53 vehicles and 44 casualties.
While 21 of the incidents were classified as “slight”, meaning casualties sustained minor injuries such as sprains, bruises or cuts, eight were “serious”, having involved hospital in patient treatment, fractures, concussions or deep wounds.
A further incident on Sandbach Road in June 2020 was fatal.
Currently, data is not available for 2025 or 2026.
Cheshire East Council was asked to comment.
(Photo: Google Earth).
